


You May Be Right

by paradox85



Category: DCU (Comics), Justice League International (Comics)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Eating Disorders, Friends to Lovers, Team as Family, Ted's alive and stays alive, Tora too, hello big sexy
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-09-08
Updated: 2020-01-16
Packaged: 2020-11-02 00:18:10
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 5
Words: 13,396
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/20557607
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/paradox85/pseuds/paradox85
Summary: Booster adjusts to life at the embassy.





	1. I Crashed Your Party

Guy Gardner was not the type of person who received many invitations. At least, not to peaceful gatherings. Usually, Guy was invited along to fights to demonstrate his skill at knocking heads; so, he was genuinely surprised to have received two invitations in one day to events that didn’t involve fights. The first invitation, and arguably the one Guy was happier to receive, was for a Green Lantern ‘social gathering’. He thought it was a pretty stuffy name for something that literally meant all the available Lanterns gathering together for one big pig pile somewhere deep in outer space. 

Having decided to go, Guy found himself comfortably nestled in a pile of Green Lanterns, the lot of them surrounded by a peaceful bubble of green light: a group effort. Guy’s own ring lit up about a quarter of their space bubble, Kilowog’s ring provided a few choice pillows, and Guy was pretty sure that Kyle’s ring formed the curve that cradled their pig pile. He woke up as he heard Kilowog’s grumbly voice beneath him, announcing the arrival of someone else. He stirred, freezing when he realized his head was cradled against Kilowog’s chest, that John’s head was pressed between his shoulder blades, and that Jessica’s long black hair was draped over his face, damn near suffocating him when he breathed in. He grumbled unhappily, trying to roll over to see who was joining them, and nearly ended up kicking Kyle in the face. He realized with dawning horror that the warm weight settled on the back of his legs was, in fact, his fellow Lantern, G’nort. He huffed a sigh, struggling out from underneath his prison of sleeping heroes, all of whom stirred unhappily as he moved. He freed himself just in time to see that the newcomer was none other than Hal Jordan, and tipped his head back with an audible groan, which was met only with a grin from Hal.

“Wake up on the wrong side of the bed, Gardner?”

“The fuck you want, Hal?” He snapped back, watching as Hal nimbly floated into their little Green Lantern bubble. 

“Wow! Someone’s testy. I flew all this way to get you and this is how you treat me!”

Guy narrowed his eyes.

“You came out here to get me? What, there a crisis on Earth you couldn’t handle? Figures you’d come cryin’ ta me to clean up yer mess.” He returned Hal’s frown with a smirk, both of them narrowing their eyes at each other before tensing at the sudden rumble of a snore from Kilowog. Hal rolled his eyes and gestured for Guy to follow, the pair flying back to Earth in terse silence.

“Look, I came to get you because Batman asked me to. He said something about making a new team and--God only knows why, but--he wants you on it. You, Guy! Not me, not John, not Jessica, _you_.” Guy heard him huff out a frustrated sigh.

“Well, of _course_ they want me! I’m the greatest there ever was or will be! I’m the best thing Earth’s got to offer. I bet old Batsy is gonna beg me to lead this new team. Just you wait and see.” He grinned cockily, his gaze fixed resolutely towards Earth, head already filled with visions of his own team to lead. A group to boss around, battles to win, respect to earn from better known heroes, veneration from heroes younger than himself: it was better than he could have hoped for! 

“Just… just don’t mess this up for us, alright? You know you’re representing all Lanterns now.”

Guy would never understand why Hal thought he was going to mess up, or why he looked so worried when they finally made their way back home. 

* * * * *

Ted was so excited he could hardly keep a straight face. He kept catching his reflection in the Bug’s windshield, seeing his grin, and struggling to fight it off his face. He was flying merrily from Chicago to New York City, planning to meet with Batman, a Green Lantern, and Martian Manhunter, in the hopes that they could create a new Justice League. Manhunter--J’onn, he reminded himself--had mentioned that the other team members had been invited too. Honestly, he was just glad to be getting out of solo mission work. Superheroing in Chicago was exciting enough, but he had had one too many close calls recently.

Most of all, he was excited to be making friends that got it, that understood the hectic life of a superhero (not to mention it would give him the chance to show off his beloved Bug). When he touched down on the roof of the abandoned office building they agreed to meet at, he was surprised to see J’onn way down at the base of the building, already chatting with a misfit group of superheroes. All Ted could make out of them from this far away was that they were dressed in ridiculous outfits, a smudge of bright colors against gray asphalt. One of them appeared to be wearing enormous green moon boots.

And there, off in the shadow of the building, Ted thought he saw the flutter of a cape--Batman? _Ugh_, Ted thought to himself, _I wish I could fly, but noooo, now I gotta jog down all these stairs_. By the time he made it to the bottom of the building, he was huffing and puffing, but all the same he strutted out to the group. He recognized all of them from various news reports and his own research, and he found himself hoping that at least some of them recognized him too. He had to admit that he felt small and slightly insignificant standing next to a Martian with all kinds of cool powers, but all the same he approached the group with an easy grin and outstretched hands. 

“Welcome, everybody! First off, I just want to thank everyone for gathering here today at my invitation-.” Ted cut himself off, his grin faltering slightly, when he glanced around at the unamused faces in the circle. Most of them apathetically raised their eyebrows at him, but Dinah looked outright annoyed, and Mister Miracle looked like he was hiding a smile by looking down to examine his shoes. Ted was relieved that at least someone knew his opening joke was funny, and he decided that he would have to go meet Mister Miracle later. J’onn clearing his throat got his attention back, and he was alarmed to see that he looked visibly pained. 

“Right, well, this is everyone. Beetle, I trust you brought the Bug for transportation? Batman and I have scouted out a building we think would be suitable for our headquarters, and we’d like to show it to you all.” 

“Great! I’ll lead the way then, you guys are gonna love my beautiful baby, the Bug.” He grinned easily and turned to head back into the building, up the stairs, but realized no one was following him. _Oh, right, everyone else can fly, you dummy_. He poked his head outside and, sure enough, everyone had taken to the air. He waved his arms helplessly.

“Uhhh, hey guys? Down here! A little help!” He jumped up and down a bit, pleased to see that three of his new teammates turned back for him: Mister Miracle, Shazam, and Fire. Fire reached him first, but she was, well, on fire. He danced backwards from her outstretched arms.

“Whoa! Thanks for coming back for me, but I’m not fireproof.” He laughed nervously and continued to back away from her as she advanced on him, grinning toothily.

“Are you sure? What if that’s your secret superpower?” Her laugh was booming and contagious, and Ted couldn’t help but chuckle uneasily along with her. He suddenly felt two strong hands loop under his armpits, gripping him in an iron hold and lifting him easily off the ground. His head flew up as he scrambled for a hold on the wrists of his captor, coming face to face with the lightening bolt on Shazam’s chest. He squeaked as he was lifted off of the pavement, his body swaying in the breeze as he was carried to the roof. 

“Hey Shazam, ol’ buddy, ol’ pal, are you sure you’ve got me? Cause we’re pretty high off the ground and-.” Ted stopped complaining when he saw that Batman was being carried up too, by J’onn. Relaxing a bit, he realized that being carried through the air was sort of nice; if nothing else, it gave him some pretty good views. He thanked Shazam when they landed, and turned to face the group. Ted could’ve sworn he felt his heart stop when he saw Guy Gardner boredly kicking one of the Bug’s legs with his stupid, big green boots, and Bea perched on the hood while _still on fire._

“What are you doing?!” He hollered. “Get away from her! Get away!” He shooed them off, huffing angrily at Guy before hurrying over to rub at the scorch marks Bea at left. He felt his anger rising as Guy laughed and gestured over his shoulder at Ted, but was prevented from flying off the handle when he felt a hand on his shoulder. He turned to look at Mister Miracle, who was smiling kindly at him. 

“Sorry about your plane, Beetle. I’ve got some polish that I’m sure would have her looking just fine in no time.” Ted smiled back, and was about to reply when the two heard the sounds of a scuffle. They turned to see J’onn hurriedly backing away from Bea, nearly tripping over his own feet, because she was still engulfed in emerald green flames. He noticed that Bea was making indignant faces and that J’onn looked like he was pleading, and he realized with a start that they must be speaking telepathically. Dimly, he remembered reading in a magazine somewhere that Martians were telepathically talented and terrified of fire. Or had he read that in a scientific journal?

He scratched his chin, musing to himself before his thinking was interrupted by another scuffle, this time between a leering, self-satisfied Guy Gardner and a furious-looking Black Canary. It was at this point that Ted also realized that Batman had disappeared and Shazam was… cowering? Why on Earth would someone that strong be hiding like a child? He looked around at the misfit team with a sigh. _Ugh_, he thought to himself, _This is going to be a long day._

* * * * *

Needless to say, the team had gotten off to a rocky start. Most of the time Ted found himself regretting jokes that no one seemed to appreciate or wishing that he were back on his own in Chicago. Mister Miracle, or Scott, as he had asked Ted to call him, was turning out to be his closest friend. Guy Gardner was insufferable, J’onn was unknowable, Bea seemed miffed that he hadn’t let her carry him back on day one, Tora hardly ever spoke and when she did, it was very quietly, while Dinah almost never stopped talking, even if most of it was arguing, and Batman was hardly ever there. Oh, and Ted had recently learned that Shazam was a _child_, so going into combat with him made Ted incredibly uncomfortable and horribly worried that something bad would happen to him.

Not to mention that most of the bad guys they tried to apprehend were outsmarting them (the team had been thwarted twice by some gangsters called the Salty Dogs, a group of thieves clad in antique scuba diving gear; yes, seriously, twice.) So when, after several weeks of trying to act like a team, Batman announced that they were going under ‘rebranding’ and ‘new management’, everyone seemed relieved.

So, it was this way that Ted found himself standing in the office of a one Maxwell Lord, watching the greasy businessman lean back in his chair and puff on his cigar as he explained how thrilled he was to be taking over as the team manager. Ted heard himself sigh heavily, and he could’ve sworn he saw Bea roll her eyes at Tora in his peripherals. 

“So, my first gift to you all as the new and improved team manager is that I’m going to fix up your headquarters into something worthy of a superhero team, where real work can happen, and I’m going to equip it with rooms for each of you.” Max explained, and Ted was surprised to see that Tora and Shazam actually looked excited at the idea.

“My second gift is your new name: something to really get everyone around the world fired up about you guys. Seriously, I want every country involved. We’ve gotta stop thinking so America-centric if you guys are gonna make it in the superhero world. So, from now on, you’ll be known as the Justice League International!” Max looked horribly self-satisfied with the announcement before he continued on.

“My third and final gift to you all--just like the wise kings and baby Jesus, m’kay?--is your newest team member. Please join me in welcoming the one and only superhero from the future, tricked out with cutting-edge tech and hailing all the way from the 25th Century--Booster Gold!” 

Max turned to gesture dramatically to the closet door behind him, and about half a second later the new guy came bursting out of it, sporting a 10 gigawatt smile and looking for all the world like a movie star clad in gold spandex. Ted might have been impressed if he hadn’t been so preoccupied with the idea that Booster Gold (supposedly a ‘gift’ to the ‘Justice League International’) had been hiding in a closet throughout Max’s lengthy speech, just for the sake of making a dramatic entrance.

Ted nearly bust his gut laughing, and he couldn’t stop, even when everyone turned to look at him. He wasn’t sure if he saw it right, amidst his throes of laughter and clutching his stomach, but he could’ve sworn he saw Booster Gold watching him and grinning even brighter.


	2. Only Having Fun

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Booster adjusts to life at the embassy.

Booster sat at his new desk, sighing as he pulled his hand through his hair and looked around. It was, at least, better than the other places he had been crashing in. A simple bed, simple dresser, his own small bathroom. He suddenly wished he had brought more with him from the future; things to decorate his walls and door, so they looked friendly and inviting, like the door to Ice or Beetle’s room. 

His train of thought was disrupted by a bubble of laughter from the hallway, and he cautiously poked his head outside. Ice, Fire, and Blue Beetle were standing in the embassy hallway, apparently laughing at some great joke. Fire playfully shoved Beetle in the shoulder, rolling her eyes, and Ice blushed as she looked down at her feet with a small smile. He sauntered over to them, throwing a casual smile on his face.

“Hey guys, what’s up?” He glanced in Ice’s room, doing a double take when he saw the two beds and the closet, spilling over with brightly colored pants and tank tops.

“Aw, c’mon, why does Ice get _two_ beds?” He asked incredulously, frowning when his only reply was another round of giggles from the trio. Fire grabbed his bicep in an iron grip, getting his attention and grinning at him with mischievous eyes. 

“Max is letting me and Tora room together. He even gave us the biggest room in the embassy! We’re playing loud music 24/7 and you can’t stop us.” He opened his mouth to reply but was stopped by a soft, cold hand on his shoulder. He whipped his head around to face Ice. 

“She’s just kidding, Booster, I promise. Bea and I’ll be quiet. And please don’t be jealous of the beds! You can come over anytime!” She smiled sweetly at him, and he turned to face Blue Beetle, who was watching him intently from behind his yellow, buggish goggles. 

“Have you seen my room yet, Booster? C’mon, it’s just down the hall from yours, and I got this really cool invention that I’d like you to take a look at--it reminds me of your flight ring--” Booster stopped him, holding up his hands placatingly. 

“Look, um, Blue Beetle, I don’t know the first thing about my tech. Sorry, man, I wish I could help.” Booster’s brow furrowed when Ted snorted at his reply.

“First of all, I can’t believe you’re running around with tech that you don’t know anything about. I mean, aren’t you curious about your force field belt? Also, please, for the love of God, don’t call me Blue Beetle everytime you talk to me. I’m worried I’ll end up like Batman. You can call me Beetle, or by my civvies name, Ted.” He offered with a small smile, extending his hand. Booster took it, raising his eyebrows as he looked down at him appraisingly. 

It was really easy to smile when he was looking at a man in a goofy bug suit. Besides, he had to admit that he was more fond of Ted after their brilliant move to takedown the giant android sent by the Royal Flush Gang. 

“You can call me Booster. Nice to see that you’ve stolen the golden goggles look from me, by the way!”

“You’re allegedly from the future, so technically you stole the look from me.” Ted retorted, and Booster surprised himself with a laugh that bubbled up from his stomach. Ted grinned at him and looked like he was about to say more before they were interrupted by the sound of a commotion on the staircase. 

Booster got there first and saw J’onn picking himself up off the floor, brushing cookie dust off of himself. He was surrounded by a spilled crate of cookies, and Oberon was picking one up off of the floor to inspect it. Booster watched as Ted did the same, except he popped it right into his mouth and ate it.

“Hey, y’know, J’onn, these are pretty good!” Ted wiggled his fingers as he reached for another, but J’onn smacked his hand away with a look. Booster giggled at their antics, drifting into the kitchen at the sounds of Max coming in. 

His arms were full of white paper bags with each of their names written on them; Booster remembered that he had gone out to buy them all sandwiches as a reward for handling the Royal Flush Gang so well the other day. He sighed and put his hands on his hips once he had successfully deposited all of the lunches on the table, surveying his work.

“I _really_ need to get an assistant to do this for me. Like a robot. A robot butler, maybe.” He mused. Booster ignored Max’s thinking-out-loud, meandering over to the table to find his food. He absentmindedly pulled Max into a one-armed hug as he picked out his bagged lunch, everyone else filing in, looking for theirs.

“Thanks, Max!” He smiled brightly at him before he noticed Max’s furrowed brows and uncomfortable expression, causing Booster to lean away uncertainly. Glancing over his shoulder, he noticed Bea and Ted looking away quickly, and Guy rolling his eyes.

“What? You guys don’t hug each other in this time or something? Just saying thank you!” He threw up his hands, “Y’know, in the _future_…” He snorted at the pained groan this elicited from almost everyone in the room. They had been living as a team for only a little while and he had already managed to annoy them with that phrase. 

He headed to the living room to eat, plopping down on the couch and stretching his legs out with a languid sigh. He felt someone nudge his shoulder, and he turned with a questioning sound. Ted smiled at him and came around to the front of the couch. 

“Make some room!” He set himself down beside Booster, merrily biting into his sandwich and reaching for the TV remote. Booster watched him with confusion as Ted flicked through several channels. Why was he coming to sit with him? Did he want something from him? He narrowed his eyes and noticed there was some mustard in the corner of Ted’s mouth, which was kind of gross, but from there his gaze traveled carefully up his face, wondering why the hell he decided to come right in here to spend lunch with Booster. 

He found himself wondering some other things too, his mind wandering; what color hair was Ted hiding under his cowl? Probably brown, or auburn. The man had to be at least a little bit of redhead, what with those big wild eyes that lit up when he had an idea. Would Booster ever get the chance to see his hair? He doubted that they would ever trust each other enough to walk around the embassy out of costume. Hell, the best he could probably hope for with anyone one this team was just being work friends. He only realized he was staring when Ted shot him a glance, and Booster grinned gleefully as a blush crept up Ted’s cheeks. 

“What?”

“Hm? Oh, nothing!” Booster grinned at him cheekily. “Except, well, y’know, you’ve got mustard all over your face.” Ted sputtered and lifted a hand to wipe at his chin, his blush deepening. Booster laughed a little to himself and turned his attention back to his own sandwich. He had to admit, it was pretty unappetizing. Cold cured meat shoved into white bread? He sighed ruefully, wishing he were back home with _normal_ food. He felt Ted elbow him in the side.

“That was a heavy sigh. Didn’t you ask Max to get you ham and cheese?”

_Yeah_, Booster thought, _I only ordered this ‘cause it's what everyone else was getting_. 

“Right, yeah, no, it's good.” Booster assured him half-heartedly. _Just gotta put up with it to fit in, for now_. 

_Me, too_. 

Booster yelped. He couldn’t help it. Who the hell just spoke in his head? He whipped around, ignoring the alarmed looks he was getting from his teammates, until he made eye contact with J’onn. 

_My apologies. Do not be afraid._

“You’re a telepath?!” Booster exclaimed, his voice squeaky with disbelief. The tension in the room broke with breathy laughs once everyone realized what had just happened to him. Booster shook his head and turned back to the TV, huffing and wrapping up his sandwich. He didn’t really feel like eating, what with the gross food and the shred of embarrassment he was feeling. 

Ted patted his knee consolingly, and Booster felt some tension in his chest unravel at the touch. How come no one in this century _touched_ each other? Sure, the amount of sex seemed to be the same century to century, but he longed for the casual physical affection he was used to back home. 

“Want some of mine? It’s roast beef, which beats ham and cheese any day.”

“What? No, it’s yours.”

“I don’t mind sharing! I can share. C’mon, try a bite!” Ted wiggled the sandwich invitingly at him, crumbs sprinkling down onto the couch. Booster rolled his eyes, waving him off. 

What was with this guy? He was so friendly. Too friendly? Booster couldn’t tell. He couldn’t think of a single thing Ted had to gain by befriending him. They had made a pretty great team when they took down that android together, but he knew Ted had a reputation as a prankster. Was this some elaborate joke? No, surely he would have picked up on the social cues if that were the case. Maybe he just genuinely wanted to be friends. 

Booster glanced at him surreptitiously. Ted was munching happily away on his sandwich, eyes locked on the TV screen. Yeah, his face was open and trusting. No way this guy had malicious intent. 

“Hey, Ted.”

“Hm?”

“You said J’onn’s cookies were pretty good, right?” He lowered his voice, a mischievous smile playing on his lips as he sank further into the couch, leaning towards Ted conspiratorially.

“We should steal some after lunch. To make up for him listening in on my thoughts and scaring me.” Ted’s eyes lit up at the suggestion, and he pushed his forgotten sandwich aside, giving Booster his full attention. 

“Oh, _yes_. I’ll bet he keeps them somewhere in the kitchen. But not somewhere we’d expect. Somewhere weird.” Ted stroked his chin thoughtfully, the thick material of his gloves sliding over his cowl. 

Booster watched the movement, rubbing the back of his head into the back of the couch as he pondered the question himself. His mind wandered and he wondered absentmindedly if static electricity in his hair would help him think better. He had no clue where a Martian hides his cookies. Thankfully, Ted came to the rescue.

“Betcha he hides them behind the cleaning supplies or canned vegetables. Y’know, places no one on this team would ever go willingly.” Booster barked out an unexpected laugh at the comment, clapping a gloved hand over his mouth. Ted chuckled, glancing over his shoulder to make sure no one in the kitchen was witnessing the coup being planned on the couch.

* * * * *

Twenty minutes later found them perched on the edge of the roof, an entire pack of J’onn’s cookies between them. Booster looked down on the street far below, swinging his legs and kicking his heels against the side of the building. It was windy way up high, but the view was nice and the sun was warm. 

“These are way better than my sandwich.” He said brightly, and Ted hummed in agreement. He was sitting behind Booster, his back pressed firmly against the barriers around the edge of the roof. Booster watched him tip his head back against the barrier, eyes closed in the sun, a content expression on his face. _Yeah_, Booster thought, _we’re gonna be friends._


	3. I Found You There

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Booster works out. Ted gets dumped.

Ted woke slowly and groggily to the sound of rhythmic thumping coming from somewhere down the hall. He fuzzily came to, blinking in the pale morning light. What was that dull noise, like someone dropping something on the floor over and over again? He grumbled unhappily, rolling over in bed and burying his nose in his comforter. 

Maybe if he ignored the noise long enough, he would drift off back to sleep. But no, the noise seemed very persistent and entirely constant. He desperately tried to convince his mind to drift off to dreamland, but he found that the more he focused on sleeping, the more his mind zeroed in on the noises. 

He huffed a sigh; he could see the writing on the wall. This was just like when he thought up a new invention. His mind refused to let him rest until he had sought it out to see if his idea worked. This was no different; the noise was a puzzle for his mind to mull over and yearn to solve. He sat up, dragging a hand over his eyes and turning to look glumly out the window. It couldn’t be later than 7:00 am. He blinked at his clock as he fumbled around in his bedsheets for a hoodie to pull over the t-shirt he wears to bed. The clock showed that it was 6:17 am; disgusting. 

He turned his legs over the edge of the bed, stumbling to his feet and slipping into his work boots. He patted uselessly at his tangled bed head as he found his way out of his own bedroom.

He found that living in the embassy had been pretty great so far. It was nice to be around teammates, even if they were still getting to know each other. At least, he felt better about all of the villains who had vendettas against him when he was sleeping across the hall and next door to a bunch of super-powered people. He didn’t bother to close his door, blearily bumbling down the hall towards the rhythmic noise. His ears led him past the kitchen and the living room, all the way to the embassy gym. He cautiously peered through the window on the door, his eyes widening when he saw inside. 

There was Booster, scantily clad in little golden shorts and a blue tank top--or was it a crop top?--doing high knees beside the treadmill. He then dropped into a plank position, gripping two dumbbells and pulling them up in renegade rows. Ted instantly recognized the sound of the dumbbells hitting the floor as the thumping that woke him up. 

Booster finished his set, getting to his feet and placing his hands on his hips, his chest heaving with the labor of exercise. He was covered from head to toe in a layer of sweat, the droplets beading on the fine blonde hair that covered his body. Ted watched him tip his head back, eyes closed, catching his breath before turning to grab his water bottle. He supposed it made sense that Booster would wake up early to workout; how else would he maintain that six pack? The movie-made pecs? The perky ass? Not that Ted had noticed, or anything. 

Booster then lifted the edge of his shirt up to wipe the sweat off his face, and Ted swore he felt something in his chest tighten when he saw the exposed strip of Booster’s stomach. When he dropped his shirt, Booster’s blue eyes caught Ted’s through the window, and he froze. It was only then that Ted realized he had been spying on his friend for the past minute and a half, and that he was completely slack-jawed, doing his damnedest to catch flies in his mouth. He snapped his mouth shut with an audible click, lifting his hand in greeting to Booster and opening the door to slip inside the gym. 

“Morning.” Ted winced at the sound of his voice, still gravelly and nasally with sleep. He cleared his throat, blinking in the harsh light, suddenly acutely aware of his rumpled pants and stained sweatshirt. He probably even had dried drool on his face. Booster raised his eyebrows at him, hands still on his hips, a smile playing at his lips.

“You’re up early.”

“Yeah, well, someone was throwing around dumbbells, like, two feet from where I was sleeping.” He replied grumpily, his bad mood softening only a bit at the brunt of Booster’s cheerful one. 

“I usually do my workouts in the afternoon, like everyone else.” He continued, stifling a yawn and crossing his arms.

“Where’d you learn workouts like this anyways?” He eyed Booster carefully, watching him chew on his lip and glance to the side.

“Ahhh, well, y’know. I played football. In the future, that is. So, the superior version of football.” He grinned at Ted, stretching his arms above his head and leaning back, sighing happily as his back cracked. Ted fought very hard to keep his eyes on Booster’s face, not trusting himself to look anywhere else when he just woke up to find his friend working out in booty shorts. 

“I was pretty good, too! Played for my university, was going to go pro.” Ted realized Booster was still talking to him, and he scolded himself for letting his mind wander off. He refocused his attention to the conversation.

“Was going to? Why didn’t you?” He asked tentatively, instantly recognizing the flash of regret on Booster’s face. Or maybe it was shame? Hard to imagine that a gloryhound like Booster ever felt shame, but the emotion left his face so quickly that Ted couldn’t be sure. An easy grin took its place.

“I didn’t go pro because I was needed here! Had to come back to save people in the past.” He nodded resolutely, although Ted wasn’t exactly following his logic. He sighed, scrubbing his face, realizing with a flash of frustration that there was no way he was going to fall back asleep after this. 

“Okay, well, could you save people more quietly? Some of us sleep till a reasonable hour.” Ted waved goodbye, turning to head out of the weight room. He was alarmed to find that Booster drifted after him like a lost puppy, following him straight into the kitchen. Ted hunched his shoulders, wishing that he could just make coffee and start his morning in peace, without an audience and the looming threat of conversation. 

If Ted didn’t know any better, he would have guessed that Booster felt bad about waking him up, and was following him around with the hope of having an opening to apologize. He put on the coffee pot, yawning and leaning against the counter, finally raising his eyes to look at Booster. He was leaning against the door frame, watching Ted closely. 

“What? You want some coffee? I put on enough for two.”

“No, no, that’s okay. I don’t drink coffee. Don’t do so well with caffeine.”

“Oh. What is it, then? I still have drool on my face?”

“Nope! Well, maybe, actually, you do.” Booster abruptly pushed himself off the doorframe, skirting around the table and coming to lean against the counter beside Ted. Ted was a little surprised at the close proximity Booster went for, but then again he had noticed that Booster was quite touchy-feely. He usually just chalked it up to differences between current and future social etiquettes. 

“But this isn’t about the drool.” 

“What’s it about, then?” Ted’s attention was grabbed by the smell of brewing coffee, and he turned away from Booster and towards the coffee machine, reaching for a mug. Booster stilled his movement with a hand on his arm. Ted raised an eyebrow questioningly at him.

“Wait, this is serious. I need you to listen.”

“I am listening. I can listen and drink coffee at the same time.” He grumbled, stopping what he was doing nonetheless. Booster seemed like he had something he really wanted to share. 

“So, this is my first time seeing you without your mask, right?”

“...It’s a cowl.”

“Whatever. First time seeing you without your cowl. The point is, I already _knew_ you had curly hair.” He gestured wildly with his hands, a grin spreading across his face as though he had just found the Holy Grail. Ted rolled his eyes, a smile spreading to his face too.

“Well yeah, you’re from the future, so you know everything already. Right? Like you probably know every villain fought by the Justice League International, how Batman dies, what the weather’s going to be a week from now.” Ted nodded sagely, finally pouring himself a mug of hot coffee. Booster grabbed his arm urgently, shaking his head.

“What?! No! Are you crazy? Why would I bother to remember all that--all that, how’s it called-- not important stuff? Look, Ted, I’m telling you, I didn’t know a single thing about the ‘Blue Beetle’ before coming here, but, like, once I met you, I knew you had curly hair.” Ted couldn’t help it; he started chuckling.

“I’m just messing with you, Boost. I know there’s no way you knew all that other stuff.”

“Well… I mean. I do know _some_ stuff that’s going to happen.” 

“Yeah, so there’s no way that knowing that my hair was curly was a lucky guess. Either someone told you or you’ve seen a picture of me without the cowl before.”

“I’m _telling_ you, it was a hunch. I knew. I know how I can prove it, too! We can ask J’onn! I bet he heard me thinking about it.” Ted laughed again at Booster’s suggestion.

“I’m not really interested in asking J’onn for any favors right now. Especially after the blowout over the great cookie heist.” Booster grinned at the memory, finally seeming to relax once his point had been made. They sat in amiable silence for a few minutes while Ted sipped at his coffee.

“You want an herbal tea?”

“Hm?”

“An herbal tea. Since you don’t drink caffeine.”

“Oh! Nah, I should go finish my workout.” He shrugged at Ted with smile, rising from the countertop and slipping out of the kitchen. Ted watched him go, almost wishing he would stay.  
He couldn’t believe it! He’d had a conversation with someone before 8:30am and it hadn’t left him feeling rueful and curmudgeonly. He’d even laughed! He shook his head, wondering how on Earth Booster knew about his hair. The guy was kind of an oddball, but at least he had a good sense of humor. 

He sighed, taking his coffee with him as he drifted towards the embassy garage. He was up, he was sort of dressed, sort of caffeinated. Mine as well tinker with the Bug while he had the time. On his way, he caught a glimpse of the sun rising through the living room windows. The bright orange hues silhouetted the tall city buildings, turning the clouds a brilliant golden color. He blinked in the sharp rays of sunlight, smiling to himself at the peaceful sight, the pleasant feeling following him all the way down to the garage. 

* * * * *

Booster was fairly certain that New York City was trying to kill him. It was November, and the air was already crisp and cold. He had to opt out of wearing tight fitting t-shirts in favor of trim sweaters and jackets. He had tried to wear a varsity jacket with his superhero getup, even, but Max had threatened to kick him out of the embassy if he didn’t change it. And, to make matters worse, the tan he had worked so meticulously on cultivating was fading.

Due to the change of weather, Booster had developed a habit of drinking tea late at night, just before bed. It was a pleasant herbal tea that Ted had introduced him to, and he often ran into Tora when he went down to put on a pot of water to boil. Tonight, though, it seemed to be just him downstairs when he crept into the kitchen for his nightly tea. He yawned as he waited for the water to boil, realizing with a start that he could hear the TV faintly playing in the living room. Was one of his teammates up? A solo movie night, perhaps. He headed over to investigate, pausing behind the couch at the sorry sight he found. 

There was Ted, sprawled out on the couch and clad in what appeared to be a bathrobe, but he was wearing it backwards. An empty pizza box sat beside him, and a mostly melted carton of ice cream was held between his legs, the spoon wedged in the melting goo. He was watching the TV with a faraway look in his eyes, and Booster was alarmed to see that he looked really upset. Almost as if he had been crying. He leaned over the back of the couch, tentatively reaching out a hand to put on Ted’s knee. He started, blinking a few times and turning to look at Booster. He hurriedly brushed a hand down his face, sitting up a bit straighter against the couch arm.

“Oh, hey, Boost.”

“Hey, Ted.” He began, unsure of what to address next. “Uh. You don’t look so good.”

“Gee, thanks.”

“No! Wait, that’s not what I meant.” He pinched the bridge of his nose with a sigh. “I mean, you look upset. Can I help?”

“No. Yeah. Well, I don’t know.” Ted groaned miserably, crossing his arms and turning back to the TV.

“Hm. Okay. Well, how’s about I get rid of this stuff and get you some water?” He suggested, relieved when Ted nodded halfheartedly. He took away the ice cream and threw away the pizza box, bringing Ted a glass of water instead. He thanked Booster quietly and sipped at it, scrunching up his legs to make room on the couch. 

“I like your wizard robe.” Booster murmured quietly, thinking maybe he saw Ted’s lip twitch up at the comment, but his face sank again only moments later.

“It’s a Snuggie, actually.”

“Never heard of it.” Booster said and flopped down beside him, sighing and reaching for the TV remote. He muted the program, causing Ted to glance at him questioningly out of the corner of his eye.

“Well?”

“Well what?” Ted replied, sounding defensive.

“Are you gonna tell me why you’re so upset?”

“I got dumped, Booster.”

“Oh! I didn’t realize you were dating anyone.” He replied, trying to tamper down his relief at the explanation for Ted’s distress. He was worried that Ted had gotten kicked off of the team, or had failed to save a civilian, or that someone he knew had died. But relationship problems? This, he could handle. 

“I’m sorry, Ted. That’s a real bummer.”

“Well, yeah, but it wouldn’t be such a big deal if I hadn’t gotten so--I mean, you saw me. With the whole pizza. Nearly a whole thing of ice cream. I think there was half a can of cashews before that. I don’t even _like_ cashews! My stomach is _killing_ me.” Ted groaned, shaking his head.

“I wish I hadn’t done that. That’s all. Now I’m gonna be bloated for _days_.” Ted scrubbed his face viciously, finally settling with his hands still covering his face. Booster took in his hunched over posture, the way he was hiding his expression. He did look miserable and uncomfortable. He realized that Ted must be feeling pretty upset about being dumped, and now he had to deal with the shame of a binge eating episode on top of that. 

Booster had overheard Bea and Ted talking about his eating disorder before, but he didn’t think it would ever come up right here in the embassy. Not to mention that he himself had never really talked to Ted about it, so he didn’t fully understand the scope of it. But he could see that right now Ted was in pain, both physical and emotional. 

Booster knew he had to do something to try and help, reminding himself that he is in fact a superhero who has dealt with scarier things than a friend’s breakdown. Unsure of what else to do, he reached out a hand and laid it gently on Ted’s shoulder, feeling him tense beneath his touch. 

For him, the contact was electric; he really missed the physical closeness there was between friends in the future. It was nice to be able to reach out and touch, even if these were special circumstances. He scooted closer, their knees bumping together for a moment before Booster quickly moved his leg away. He couldn’t push the envelope too much; wouldn’t want to make Ted uncomfortable. He began rubbing with his hand in slow circles, mentally applauding himself when he felt the taut chords of muscle in Ted’s back begin to relax. 

And, wow, were there more muscles there than he was expecting! He had admired Ted’s back and shoulders before, sure, but the guy wasn’t exactly cut. Booster knew he had to be strong to do the gymnastics routines he used for training, but all the same he was surprised to feel how built his back was. His mind continued to wander as he rubbed Ted’s back, until his friend finally lifted his face from his hands, wiping his nose on the sleeve of the Snuggie. He turned to eye Booster, somehow looking both grateful and apprehensive.

“...Thanks, Booster.”

“Sure.” He didn’t move his hand from Ted’s back as he leaned closer to talk to him. “I’m headed up soon, to get ready for bed. You should come too!” He gave Ted’s shoulder a squeeze, earning a tired smile from him.

“Yeah, yeah, okay. I’m coming.” 

The pair rambled upstairs, and Booster paused in the doorway of his room to watch as Ted headed off to his own room. He chewed his lip, drumming his fingers on the door jamb as he tried to make up his mind; he didn’t think Ted should be alone quite yet. He ducked quickly into his room to grab his toothbrush, slapping some toothpaste on it and beginning to brush his teeth as he headed down the hallway to Ted’s room. 

He had left the door open, so Booster let himself in, pausing in the space to eye the stack of papers, blueprints, and crumbled napkins that were spilling off of Ted’s desk. Oddly, the bed, however, was perfectly made. Booster wondered what on Earth went on in the ‘home cleaning and hygiene’ section of Ted Kord’s brain. There was laundry scattered around the floor too, and Booster carefully picked his way around it as he headed towards the bathroom, where Ted was standing in the open doorway. 

He was gazing with a blank stare down at the counter as he mechanically brushed his teeth, and only startled when he saw Booster in the mirror behind him. They both waved in greeting, and Booster tried to smile too, but when he did, he felt a foamy dribble of toothpaste run down his chin. He made an outrageous and disgusted noise when he saw himself in the mirror, wiping the spittle off his chin. The spectacle seemed to raise Ted’s spirits, because he broke into a grin as he leaned over the sink to spit out some toothpaste. 

“You’re foaming at the mouth, bud.” He said around his toothbrush, tittering at the over-the-top offended look that overcame Booster’s face. Booster leaned over to spit out his toothpaste, placing one hand on his hip and wagging his toothbrush at Ted with the other. 

“We’re _both_ foaming at the mouth, I’ll have you know.” He said indignantly, grinning at the chuckle from Ted that this earned him. Booster watched Ted lean over to rinse his mouth and his toothbrush, noticing that he also turned and snuck at glance at him over his shoulder. He scooted over to make room for Booster, who quickly bent to rinse his mouth and toothbrush. 

When he turned around, Ted was finally shucking off his Snuggie, casting it to the floor beside his desk; forgotten. He then collapsed into his bed with a tremendous sigh, arms flung over his head and eyes closed. Booster stood awkwardly in the door of the bathroom, wondering if it would be going too far if he helped Ted get under the covers. He seemed much better now; probably better to let him rest.

“Night, Ted.” He said brightly as he showed himself to the door, pausing to watch Ted raise his hand in farewell without moving from the bed at all. He shook his head as he shut the door to Ted’s room, rubbing the back of his neck as he wandered back to his own room. 

He had much to think about before he could actually go back to bed. Namely, he was wondering why on Earth Ted hadn’t told him he had been dating someone. Not that they were particularly close, but Booster would’ve liked to have met her, at least. That’s what people do in the 25th century! He sighed as he entered his own room, putting his hands on his hips and glancing thoughtfully down at the ground, feeling like he was forgetting something that he was going to before going to bed.

Oh, right. His tea!

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> For some reason, in my mind, the embassy has 24/7 middle school sleepover vibes.


	4. Don't Try to Save Me

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Ted learns that Booster's first language isn't English.

Man, was Ted glad to be getting away. Things at the embassy had become unbearable over the past week. After the team had driven Magna Kahn off of Earth, Max had adopted the overlord’s robot sidekick; a wry little creature named L-Ron. Ted didn’t mind him too much, because, after all, L-Ron had a killer sense of humor and used it exclusively to undermine and berate Max when he was trying to give speeches. Usually Ted was all for that, but lately he found that his own funny quips were drowned out by L-Ron’s, which was rather frustrating and led to him quipping solely to Bea and Booster. 

Needless to say, when Max announced that they needed volunteers to go help set up the Paris JLI embassy, he had jumped at the chance. He was especially happy that Booster had volunteered to join him. It was this way that he found himself clambering into a boom tube, Paris bound. Having left New York in the early afternoon, he stumbled out of the tube and into the Paris embassy in the early evening. He shook his head at the disorientation, covering his eyes momentarily to steady himself. 

After a moment, he ventured to open his eyes, stepping over to the stack of cardboard boxes lined up against the wall. He picked curiously through the electronics inside, lifting his head when he heard the boom tube humming, signifying the arrival of another person. 

Booster stumbled out moments later, groaning and hunching over. Ted had noticed that he got nauseous often, even if it was just from flying around in the Bug, so he assumed that the boom tubes would certainly make him sick. His eyebrows raised in surprise when Booster sank down to the ground to lean against the wall, his face screwed up in discomfort.

“Doing okay, Boost?”

“Yup, yeah, just… need a minute.” He murmured, his eyes still closed.

Ted stood and sighed as he strolled to the front of the building, peering out the windows. Aside from some dust bunnies and rundown looking desks, the embassy appeared to be empty. Hadn’t Max told him that there would be a secretary or someone here to greet them? He put his hands on his hips in consideration, sighing and taking in the views through the cloudy windows. The embassy looked out on a bustling lane, a beautiful city skyline descending down the hill that they were perched on. Ted figured that it didn’t matter if no one was here; he and Booster could just explore the city and head back to the embassy tonight, like they had planned.

Speaking of the devil; Booster appeared behind him, some color returning to his paled cheeks, a plan clearing brewing in that head of his.

“I thought Max said people would already be here?” He asked, raising an eyebrow at Ted, and Ted saw that the corners of his lips were being pulled up at the corners in a mischievous grin. He grinned back, clapping a hand on Booster’s shoulder. 

“Yeah, I thought so too! Oh well, I guess we’ll just be forced to stay in Paris, with no work to do!” He grinned wider, striding to the door and opening it with drama, sweeping his hand invitingly towards the street. Booster grinned back, walking through the doorway with such a bounce in his step that he was damn near skipping. The city had no idea that this dynamic duo was about to hit it. 

* * * * *

Several hours later found Ted and Booster still wandering the streets: tottering down random alleyways, admiring goods in shop windows, and, most importantly, avoiding the embassy to avoid having to do actual work. Ted was starting to get pretty hungry, and he could tell by Booster’s lack of banter that he was starting to get hungry too.

Conveniently, Paris was full of delicious and enticing smells. He decided that all he and Booster had to do was pick one, follow it, and voila, there’s dinner! He nudged Booster with his elbow, nodding towards a small pathway that led towards a main road along la Seine. Booster dawdled along behind him, stifling a yawn into the shoulder of his jacket. Ted peered down the street, wondering how long they had been up for and if they were going to be sleepy and jetlagged the whole weekend. 

Finally, down the street a ways, he spotted a decent looking restaurant, with tables outside underneath a deep red awning.

“A-ha!” He exclaimed triumphantly, heading off towards it with a newfound purpose in his step. He glanced over his shoulder at Booster, who seemed more interested in peering over the rails and down into la Seine rather than following along with him. He sighed, annoyed that he was just dawdling along. He approached the restaurant warily, worried that the host would try to speak to him in French. He smiled awkwardly at the host, hoping that he would understand what he meant when he held up two fingers.

“Uh, two please? Two for dinner?” He tried, and the host nodded with a smile but didn’t move. Ted chewed on his lip, casting a glance over his shoulder. Why couldn’t Booster just come over here and help him with this? He could just flash one of those movie star smiles and they’d have a table in two seconds flat.

The host followed Ted’s gaze to where Booster was ambling down the cobblestone walkway. Ted made gestures that he hoped communicated that he and Booster were there together, and the host finally seemed to get it, because he started nodding vigorously and picked up two menus, turning expectedly for Ted to follow him. 

Ted smiled with relief, settling happily at the outside table that the host led him too. He raised his eyebrows and crossed his arms when Booster made his way to the edge of the restaurant’s barrier, his annoyance growing when he saw the apathetic look in his eyes. He leaned over the railing and the flower boxes, reaching for Ted’s glass of water, but he smacked Booster’s hand away.

“Seriously? Why are you hanging around out there? I thought you said you were hungry!”

“I am hungry!” He snapped back.

“Well then why were you lagging behind near the water instead of helping me talk to the waiter?” 

“I thought that you said that you knew how to speak French!”

“No, if you had been listening, then you’d know that what I said was that between the two of us, we probably knew enough to get by.” 

Booster huffed frustratedly at that, leaning away from the railing and throwing his hands in the air. He turned and started to walk away, and Ted was sure that he was going to storm off to cool down until he turned into the restaurant entrance. He shuffled over to their table and settled in his seat, stretching his long legs out to the side and crossing them at the ankle. He picked up his menu, raising his eyebrows at Ted.

“There, happy?”

Ted grumbled a response under his breath, utterly convinced that Booster had to be one of the most infuriating people he had ever had the misfortune of being stuck with. He picked up his menu with a huff, lifting it up to block his view of Booster’s smug face. When the waiter came over to take their orders, Ted ordered first, smiling sheepishly at the waiter and pointing to something on the menu that he hoped was chicken. Booster sat up when the waiter turned to him, and Ted felt his chest tighten at the brilliant smile that Booster gave to the waiter as he opened his mouth, and, to Ted’s horror, spoke what sounded like perfect French.

He sputtered for a moment, looking up to see the waiter smiling goodnaturedly down at Booster, writing down whatever the hell Booster had ordered. The waiter turned and walked off, leaving Ted gaping at Booster, who was pretending not to see him staring. His eyes flicked over to Ted, and he noticed the telltale crinkle around his eyes that told Ted he was holding back mischievous laughter. 

“I ordered us some wine, I hope you don’t mind.”

“Booster.” He said flatly, leaning forward in anticipation of an explanation. 

“It’s red. You don’t like red wine?” Booster said innocently, a smile toying at his lips the same way his fingers toyed with the stem of his glass of water.

“Booster!” He said adamantly.”Why the hell didn’t you tell me you can speak French?!” 

He watched Booster grin gleefully when he scooted forward and leaned conspiratorially towards Ted.

“Well, it’s kind of a funny story. I bet that sounded really good to you, but I don’t actually speak French. I-” He stopped abruptly when the waiter came to their table, pouring them both a glass of wine and leaving the bottle near the center of the table, wrapped in a serving napkin. Ted found himself hurrying to lean back in his seat, trying to act nonchalant. Why were his cheeks burning like he was embarrassed? Was it obvious that he had been so wrapped up in Booster’s glee that he was oblivious to everything else around him? 

He pursed his lips, reaching for his glass and taking a gulp of the wine. He closed his eyes, savoring the acidity but hating how it roiled in his empty stomach. He opened his eyes to see Booster watching him over the rim of his wine glass. He smiled easily at him to reassure him, placing his glass back on the table and leaning forward on his elbows.

“Well?”

_ _ _ __ _ _ _

“Oh, yeah! Well, you see, English isn’t my first language, Ted.” Booster began again, and Ted felt a warm pull in his chest at how soft his name sounded when Booster said it. Even if he was being patronizing, the bastard.

_ _ _ __ _ _ _

“Because in the future…” Ted groaned at Booster’s words, his earlier annoyance coming back in a flash. 

_ _ _ __ _ _ _

“Oh, c’mon, Booster. You can’t expect me to believe that in the future everyone can speak every language that’s ever been used.”

_ _ _ __ _ _ _

“Of course not! That’s ridiculous. Listen.” He leaned even closer, the tablecloth crinkling beneath his elbow as he reached out and rested his fingertips on Ted’s arm. Ted gulped; he could barely feel the pressure of Booster’s hand on the sleeve of his jacket, and yet somehow it was too much for him. 

_ _ _ __ _ _ _

He looked back up at the sound of Booster’s voice, speaking in a language that sounded just like French. Or wait, no, was it Spanish? He blinked, feeling like his brain was being stretched like taffy when he tried to comprehend the words pouring from Booster’s mouth. Booster’s voice sounded different when he spoke this language, higher maybe, but no less full of the confidence and ease that he carried in English. Could he be speaking Portugese? 

_ _ _ __ _ _ _

He felt Booster’s hand squeeze his arm, and he looked up to his face immediately, suddenly embarrassed at his lack of comprehension. Booster’s eyes flicked up to his own, and Ted had the odd notion that Booster had been staring at his lips, and he felt his entire face flush. God, was he so much of a lightweight that a few sips of wine had him swooning like this? 

_ _ _ __ _ _ _

Booster seemed to realize Ted’s discomfort, because he finally clapped his mouth shut and withdrew his hand from Ted’s arm, reaching instead for his wine glass. Ted spiralled silently for a second longer, watching Booster take long gulps from his glass. 

_ _ _ __ _ _ _

“Booster. You can’t leave me hanging like this.” He chuckled a bit to blow off steam, all too aware of the fact that his face was warm and no doubt red.

_ _ _ __ _ _ _

“It’s called Esperanto; sort of an amalgamation of a bunch of different languages. Which is why I can kinda-sorta understand French. Everyone in the future speaks it. Universal language goes a long way, y’know?” Booster mused.

_ _ _ __ _ _ _

“It’s beautiful.” He murmured back, earning a lopsided smile from Booster.

_ _ _ __ _ _ _

“Do you know what I was saying?” He responded, reaching for the wine bottle and topping off their glasses. Ted shook his head, reached for his glass, and sipped at it absentmindedly, feeling a pleasant buzz coming on. 

_ _ _ __ _ _ _

He nearly choked when Booster repeated an Esperanto phrase from earlier, his voice lower, quieter, like it was a secret meant only for Ted’s ears. Booster’s face was starting to get a pleasant glow to it, too, and his lips curved differently than when he was speaking in English. At a loss for what else to do, Ted laughed again, flustered because if he didn’t know any better, it almost seemed like Booster was using a pickup line on him. 

_ _ _ __ _ _ _

“It’s something mean, isn’t it? Are you insulting my shirt? I know you think the print is ‘bold’, which is code for ugly.” He grinned at the giggle he earned from Booster, who shook his head, the movement exaggerated no doubt by the long day, lack of sleep, and access to booze. 

_ _ _ __ _ _ _

“No. What I’m telling you is-” Booster’s eyes flickered down Ted’s face again, his eyelashes fluttering when he did so. “Your lips. The wine is turning your lips red.”

_ _ _ __ _ _ _

Whatever humor Ted was using to break tension died in his throat at those words, the heat in his face traveling straight down to the pit of his stomach. Was Booster joking? No, his face looked far too soft and vulnerable for him to saying this a joke. Oh, god, Booster was actually coming on him to right now. He felt his heart start to hammer in his chest: surely this was just the wine talking. There’s no way that Booster is actually attracted to him. He opened his mouth to respond, nothing but a noise of surprise escaping when they were once again interrupted by the waiter, this time with their food. 

_ _ _ __ _ _ _

The first moments of the meal were full of awkward silence. Ted accidentally made eye contact with Booster when he glanced at him while cutting his chicken, but they both quickly looked away. When he looked up from sipping his drink-he opted for the glass of water this time-he met eyes with Booster again, and they both quickly looked away. 

_ _ _ __ _ _ _

Ted suddenly snorted into his glass of water, lifting a hand to catch the dribble that went down his chin; he couldn’t help it. It was ludicrous, the idea of them tiptoeing around each other like high schoolers at prom. They were friends! What’s a little harmless flirting between friends? He started to belly laugh in earnest, especially when he caught Booster’s eye and saw that he was chuckling too. 

_ _ _ __ _ _ _

* * * * *

_ _ _ __ _ _ _

Later, Ted remembered that they ended up ordering and finishing a second bottle of wine that night. He only has pleasant, fuzzy memories of the walk back home-god only knows how they made it back to the embassy in one piece-but he does remember that they walked with their arms slung around each other, leaning too close and laughing breathlessly, and that Booster didn’t speak a word of English the entire time.

_ _ _ __ _ _ _


	5. Take Me As I Am

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Holiday party and fun with flying!

Booster was in his element, it was no question; he loved parties. He loved the music, the mingling, the general air of pleasure. Most of all, he loved that people knew how comfortable he was at parties, loved the jealous looks he got from those who clung to the walls and the people they knew. 

Tora had explained to him that this was a holiday party, one that Max wanted to throw at the embassy for a bunch of superhero groups, to celebrate Christmas. It turns out that most superheroes aren’t Christian, though, so Max had reluctantly agreed to shift the theme of the party to simply be celebrating the holidays. Tora had also told him that Christmas was to celebrate some religious figure’s birthday, but he was still a little fuzzy on the concept of birthdays. Why would anyone want to think of how many years of their life had passed, let alone celebrate it every year? He also couldn’t fathom why on Earth people would continue celebrating the birthday of someone who had been dead for thousands of years. 

Still, he was glad to be out and celebrating. Not to mention all of the new people he was meeting! He had been captured in pleasant conversation with Ralph and Sue Dibny just half an hour ago; apparently, they both knew Ted, and were thinking of joining the JLI themselves. He’d also run into Black Canary, who he knew was technically on the team but was hardly ever seen around the embassy. She had told him very conspiratorially that Batman was in fact lurking somewhere around the party, and that-if they were lucky-Wonder Woman was going to make an appearance later on. 

That news had given Booster pause. He loved Wonder Woman as much as anybody, but she had a way of making Ted swoon. Of course, who wouldn’t? She was tall, and compassionate, and intelligent, and gorgeous. If she showed up tonight, he would never hear the end of it from Ted! He tried not to think too deeply about why it bothered him so much that Ted would be swooning over someone else; he knew the feelings that lay at the end of that road, and he knew that they only meant trouble. 

For now, though, he just tried to enjoy the party. He was currently weighed down on one side by Oberon, who was latched onto his elbow and talking at length about how Max needed to convince more heroes to work monitor duty. He was listening politely, sipping his drink and occasionally glancing over his shoulder to admire the happy party goers. He spotted Ted across the room, who was trapped in a conversation with Guy. 

Ted was standing with one hand in his pocket and the other wrapped around his drink, staring judgmentally at Guy, his eyebrows raised. He sighed heavily, visible to Booster from even across the room, and scanned the audience. Booster locked eyes with him and he felt his face instantly split into a grin, even as he told himself to play it cool. Oh, who was he kidding? He didn’t have to play it cool. Ted deserved a smile from him, at least. Ted grinned back, side eyeing Guy and then rolling his eyes dramatically. Booster chuckled quietly, watching Guy sputter at Ted, pushing his shoulder and then looking across the room to see Booster laughing. He quickly looked back down at Oberon, tuning back into whatever he was rambling about. Oberon seemed to realize that Booster was only being polite, and he finally released his elbow.

“I’m gonna go have a cigar. You want one, kid?”

“Uh. No, thanks, Oberon.” Booster responded, smiling tightly at him and then quickly turning to scan the room again. Guy was over near the kitchen doorway now, just beside the mistletoe, no doubt trying to spring a kiss on someone. He wondered absentmindedly why the tradition of mistletoe hadn’t survived until the 25th century; it was kinda sweet. He scanned the room again, his eyes finally settling on Ted again, who had found his way to the couch. He looked relaxed and happy, an arm slung over the back of the couch and one leg crossed on top of the other. 

He took a breath, running a hand through his hair and trying to fluff it up a bit. Surely he had made enough rounds through the party by now, chatting with whomever; he was off the hook playing gracious host on Max’s behalf. He could go spend some time with his friends. 

As he approached the couch, trying to keep his gait nonchalant, he found himself wondering when he had started thinking of Ted as his best friend. Ted looked up when Booster perched himself on the arm of the couch, smiling goofily up at him. 

“Hey, how goes it?” He asked brightly.

“Oh, y’know.” Booster responded, settling back against the couch. “Oberon offered me a cigar, so I’d say things are going pretty well.” 

Ted chuckled at that, shifting on the couch to sit closer to Booster. Booster raised his eyebrows down at him, his throat feeling strangely tight. Ted looked really good tonight, clad in a long sleeved shirt that brought out his blue eyes and jeans that actually fit him. Booster had yet to come to terms with the fact that he was attracted to Ted, but he figured it was something he could control and keep under wraps. After all, they were such close friends, and of the touchy feely type, that it was almost enough for Booster to get by on. Even now, he found himself looking for an excuse to touch Ted, something unraveling in his chest when Ted nudged him with his elbow.

“Hey, it’s supposed to snow tonight. Do you like snow?” Ted asked, and Booster swore he could hear something forcibly casual in his voice. Ted kept his eyes down, his fingers picking at the edge of the sticker on his drink. “We could go outside and check it out.”

Was this the offer Booster thought it was? Usually when someone asked to leave a party with him, it was for hooking up. He studied Ted’s face, trying to get a read on him. No, surely Ted really did just want to go look at the snow falling. Nerd. Booster shook his head with a smile, shrugging.

“Yeah, sure! But I mean, didn’t you promise to dance with Bea at some point?”

Ted shrugged, waving a hand at him and standing up. He plopped his drink on the coffee table, holding his palms placatingly towards Booster.

“Bea can dance with Oberon! I bet she’d love that. C’mon, let’s go.” 

Booster grinned at him, shaking his head in disbelief at himself; despite his best efforts, he just couldn’t say no to any of Ted’s ideas. He followed him to the door, and they began to sift through the pile of coats that the guests had left when they came in. Booster pulled one on, so sure that it was his suede jacket, but the sleeves felt tight and short.

“Wait, shit, this isn’t mine. I think it’s Hal’s bomber jacket.” He muttered, quickly shucking it off. Ted snorted, finally fishing out his winter coat and shouldering into it. Booster found his jacket, pulling it on and heading to the door, pausing when Ted didn’t follow him. He glanced back and saw Ted knotting the world’s ugliest scarf around his neck. He chose not to comment, instead throwing the door open and strolling out into the brisk night. 

Sure enough, snowflakes were drifting down out of the sky, and the sidewalk was covered in a dusting of white powder. Ted caught up to Booster, the two of them pausing beneath a streetlight, the flakes cast in a golden hue by the light.

“I think Central Park would have the best view of the snow.” Ted suggested, scuffing the edge of his shoe in a crack in the sidewalk, blinking whenever a flake of snow drifted towards his eyes. Booster noticed them getting caught in Ted’s eyelashes, his mind drifting. Was he really this much taller than Ted, that he could look down on him so easily? 

“Booster?”

“Huh? Sorry! Wait, did you say ‘the best view of the snow’?”

“... Yeah?”

“Well, Ted, if its a view you’re looking for, we can just go flying!” Booster snorted, surprised that Ted hadn’t thought of it first. 

“Geez, Booster, we are not taking the Bug. It’s a short walk, and, besides, kids will think we’re Santa or something.”

Booster thought better of asking who Santa was, instead charging ahead with his brilliant plan. 

“No, Ted, that’s not what I meant. I can fly! I can carry you up there, and we’ll get the best view of the snow there is!” Booster gestured to the sky, stepping closer to Ted and pulling him closer by the shoulder.

“Booster, wait, I don’t-”

“Just relax, it’s gonna be fun! Haven’t you ever flown before?”

“I swear, if you drop me, I’ll never forgive you.” 

Booster grinned, stepping behind Ted and slipping his arms under his armpits and pulling them chest-to-back. God, he was glad that he wore his Legion Flight Ring tonight. This was gonna be fun. He began to lift off the ground, his feet lifting before the rest of him, eventually pulling Ted’s feet off of the ground too. They formed a neat little L-shape in the air, locked in place when Ted reached up an hooked his hands into the crook of Booster’s elbows. 

Booster figured the prettiest view of the snow would be near water; now, to find where the water is. He started to rise higher and higher, head on a swivel as he searched for the bay. Wow, Ted’s body felt completely tense in his arms. He must actually be nervous about this. 

“_Shit_.”

“Doing okay there, Ted?”

Ted didn’t respond, craning his neck to look down. 

“Shit, we’re higher than the roof!” He exclaimed, his feet flailing suddenly and his grip iron tight on Booster’s elbows. Booster paused his ascent, squeezing Ted closer and hearing no protest. 

“I’ve got you! I promise. Look around!” He offered, pausing maybe 40 ft above the roof the embassy. Ted didn’t relax his death grip on Booster’s elbows, but he did open his eyes to look out at the view. Up here, the flurries of snowflakes were close and crisp, and the city was a sight to behold. Thousands of lights, twinkling and being slowly covered in a blanket of quiet, cold snow.

Booster breathed out a happy sigh, turning his attention back to Ted, who was still clung to him. He was less heavy than Booster had been expecting, and this was probably the closest he had ever held Ted. He swallowed thickly at the thought, his hands pressing more tightly into Ted’s shoulders. Ted turned his head at the touch, his hair brushing along Booster’s chin as he glanced up and over his shoulder and then down again at the city.

“Wow.” He breathed, and Booster’s eyes flicked from the view, to Ted, to the view again. This was a bad idea. Their faces were too close, and when Booster sucked in an unsteady breath, he swore Ted could hear his heart hammering in his chest.

“Doing okay there, Boost?” Ted murmured, licking a snowflake off of his bottom lip. Booster worked very hard to keep his eyes off of Ted’s face below him, his mind racing as he tried to decide his next move. He laughed breathlessly, forced, and began to turn them in the direction of the water, breaking the strange spell that had fallen over them. 

“Yeah! Never better. Happy holidays, Ted.” He said brightly to him, relaxing a bit when he felt Ted loosen his hands until they were simply holding on instead of trying to break his elbows. 

“Oh! I would say same to you, but you are the one who’s apparently giving me the gift of a heart attack this year.” Ted laughed, the sound sucked away behind them as Booster began speeding down to the water, icy cold air whipping his hair and chilling the tips of his ears. He continued to accelerate-lower, lower-until Ted began squirming in arms, a sudden shock of realization on his face.

“Booster-look, I swear, if you dunk me in that freezing fucking water I will _never_ forgive you!” Ted’s voice sounded squeaky and not at all threatening, so Booster couldn’t help but laugh. Still, he pulled up at the last second, feeling Ted wobble in his arms as he jerked his legs up and away from the lapping waves. 

“Aw, c’mon, it’s not gonna bite you! Stick your legs out. You can run on water, just like the Flash.” He said placatingly, grinning reassuringly down at Ted when he shot him a withering glance over his shoulder. Slowly, like a chameleon deciding where to put its foot down, Ted unfurled his legs and rested his shoes just above the waves. Booster sped up again, thick, salty air blowing over him and making his wind-blown hair hold in place. 

He grinned when he heard Ted whooping, his legs cycling just along the tops of the waves; it really did look like he was running on the water! He turned them to face the city, accelerating towards it, suddenly taken back by the pretty yellow lights and the flurry of snow all around it. He paused, momentarily forgetting the weight of Ted in his arms, caught up in the stunning view.

“Boost? I’m freezing.” Ted says, and Booster starts when he hears his voice over the wind. 

“Yeah! Yeah, of course, sorry.” He glanced around for the nearest shelter, settling on a string of piers and docked boats. He whizzed them over, lowering Ted gently onto the deck of one of the smaller boats, releasing his shoulders as he lands behind him seconds later. Ted stumbles for a second, laughing breathlessly as he puts out a hand and uses it to lower himself to the deck, leaning back against the side of the boat.

“Man, that was something else! I had no idea you could fly that fast. It was awesome.” Booster can hear the chatter of Ted’s teeth while he talks, and he squats beside him, glad for the slight protection from the wind that the side of the boat offers. 

“Yeah, that was loads of fun! One hell of a way to celebrate, too.” He grins at Ted and then tips his head back, distracted by the flurry of snowflakes all around them. His attention is pulled back to Ted when he can feel his eyes boring a hole into the side of his head. He turns to look at him with raised brows, wondering what his problem is, and is alarmed to see Ted’s thinking face. He raises his hands, already ready to protest whatever hare-brained scheme Ted is cooking up, but all he can do is yelp when Ted reaches for the bottom of his coat.

“Ted? What’re you-“ He protests verbally, but he doesn’t exactly push him off, tensing at the feeling of Ted’s fingers searching across the bottom of his coat like deft caterpillars. Finally, his hands close triumphantly around the bottom Booster’s jacket and his shirt, lifting them with flourish. 

“A-ha! You’re wearing your force field belt, dumbass. Please use it.” He grins mischievously at Booster, glancing down at the exposed strip of skin above Booster’s belt and hastily dropping his shirt and jacket back down when he sees the spread of goosebumps there. 

Booster bursts out into laughter when he hears Ted’s complaint, feeling the knot that had formed in his chest begin to ease and wishing that he hadn’t felt so eager when Ted began tearing his clothes off. He scooted closer to him, projecting his force field around them and closing his eyes with a sigh when he felt the biting wind finally cease. In the little yellow bubble, filling with shared body heat, the only sounds that could be heard were their breathing and the wind battering against the outside of the force field. 

He tried his damnednest not to fixate on how close they were sitting, almost touching but not quite. Finally, when Ted’s shoulder brushed his for the third time, Booster steeled his nerves and fought the urge to lean away, instead leaning in and settling with his weight leaning on Ted. Although he kept his eyes closed, in the small space, he could hear Ted turn his head to look at them.

Booster enjoyed the warm and comfortable silence for a long while, his neck relaxing enough that he could rest his cheek against the hideous scarf that Ted wore tightly bound around his neck. Finally, he felt Ted nudge him gently with his elbow.

“Hey, Booster, we ought to get back. They’re going to wonder where we are.” Ted murmured, and Booster opened his eyes slowly, reluctant to break the spell of this moment that somehow allowed them to be close and quiet without having to address it. He sat up, trying to keep his thoughts off of his face, and instead smiling gently at Ted. 

“Yeah, you’re probably right. Let’s hit the road.” As soon as he dropped his force field and the cold took them again, he felt himself coming to his senses and desperately hoping that he hadn’t made Ted uncomfortable. His fears were calmed when Ted approached the bow of the boat and suggested that they fly home, his arms wrapped tightly around his midriff. Booster was more than happy to oblige, and he felt the spark of fondness in his chest blaze even warmer when Ted lifted his arms without Booster asking him so he could be more easily scooped up. And, when Booster did pick him up, if he noticed a small and private smile on Ted’s lips, he didn’t have to mention it.

**Author's Note:**

> Thanks so much for reading!!  
Fic title and the chapter titles are lyrics from Billy Joel's "You May Be Right" (a very Blue & Gold song imo).


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